Fruit lug liner



Dec. 26, 1961 J. c. FISCHER ETAL FRUIT LUG LINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledDec. 22. 1958 Dec. 26, 1 961 J. c. FISCHER ETAL 3,014,531

FRUIT LUG LINER Filed Dec. 22., 1958 3 Sheets-Sheef 3 foe/ver United,States Patent St. Regis Paper Company, ration of New York Filed Dec. 22,1958, Ser. No. 781,998 6 Claims. (Cl. Mil-14) New York, N.Y., a corpo-This invention relates to the packaging of delicate fruits in shippinglugs and more particularly in the provision of an improved combinedone-piece liner and resilient cushion for installation in such lugs andthe manufacture of the same by a continuous automatic process requiringno labor other than general supervisory attention.

Any of the more delicate fruits such as cherries, peaches, apricots,tomatoes and thelike having thin, easily severed skins are packaged andtransported in shallow wooden lugs having thick end walls and theirbottoms and sides formed by slats nailed to the end walls. Customarilythere is a long narrow ventilating gap between the opposite side wallsand the bottom; one or more similar narrow gaps may also be provided inthe bottom of thelug. These gaps are particularly important when thelugs are closely stacked in transit or in storage for the purpose ofpermitting a relatively free flow of ventilating air. Such air flowserves to reduce spoilage as well as to prevent overheating, as well asto permit quick chilling after the fruit has been placed in storage orin refrigerator cars .for shipment to the point of use.

The described lugs are-customarily formed from rough sawn wood whicheasily severs the skin of delicate fruits. To avoid such damage as wellas to protect the fruit against contact with the lug and additionally toprovide desirable cushioning for the fruit during handling and shipment,it has been commonto provide an inexpensive throw-away liner. Variousdesigns of such liners have been proposed heretofore but all are subjectto certain disadvantages and shortcomings sought to be obviated by thepresent invention A particularly desirable type is formed fromcorrugated paper-because such paper not only .adds resiliency andprotection to the fruit. from shock, vibration and the like, but becausethecorrugated structure of the liner'facilita tes the passage ofessential ventilating air. However, to make proper use of suchventilating capabilitiesit has been necessary to provide the liner withcutouts through which the air may pass to the interior of thelugL V Theprovision of such cutouts is attended by several serious problems, and.this is especially true of resilient type liners. One of these problemsarises fromthe like lihood of the sharp .edgfls of the air passagescutting the tender skin of the fruit. Once the skin is broken, fruitjuices escape soiling the liner and the lug. But of more seriousconsequenceis the fact thatYsuch skin rupture leads to rapid decay'andprovides a rich culture for the rapid development of mold. These seriousconsequences can-be minimized by making the cutouts very small,

but this expedient so reduces the air port area as to defeat thepurposes of the ports.

Another and more serious aspect of providing vendislodge the cutoutsforcibly. This manual operation is both time-consuming and costly.Nevertheless, it has been mandatory in the provision of commerciallysaleable I liners.

By the present invention there is provided an improved resilient linerformed at high speed from corrugated sheet stock in a continuous processobviating the shortcomings and disadvantages of prior liners and of themethods of manufacturing the same. Preferably the corrugated sheet stockis formed as part of the continuous manufacturing procedure, one sheetbeing corrugated transversely and the crest on one exterior surfacebeing coated with adhesive as these crests are pressed against a secondflowing web of flat stock as this two-ply laminate is held assembleduntil the adhesive takes a set. The corrugated stock is then fed past aslitter station where irregularly-shaped slits are formed in properlyspaced relation to provide a hinge in association with rows of largearea ventilating passages opening into the lug only at the oppositelateral corners of the lug bottom. These slits are so arranged andcontoured that folding of the liner therealong automatically forms theventilating openings without need for blanking. any material from thebody of the liner.

Furthermore, the material displaced to form the air passages is utilizedto lock the liner assembled to the lug and for other purposes to bedescribed hereinafter. The final processing operation comprises severingthe advancing web into blanks of the proper width for in sertion intothelug and guiding the liners so severed into a stack for wrapping andpackaging. No hand operations or manual labor of any kind is requiredfrom the time the paper stock leaves the supply rolls until a sufilcientnumber of liners have been stacked and packaged for'removal to a placeof storage.

Accordingly it is a primary object of this invention to provide animproved high-speed method and apparatus for making shipping lug linerswithout need for hand operations of any character. Another object of theinvention is the provision of a method forcontinuously forming resilientlug liners featuring a pair of hinge lines crosswise of the individualliners which open to provide rows of ventilation passages as an incidentto the assembly of the liner into a shipping .1 s-

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improvedresilient lug liner having one or more. rows of irregularly shaped slitsarranged in end-to-end spaced relation to form an easily-folded hingeline facilitating the rapid insertion of the liner into a lug with aminimum of elfort.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of makinglug liners in a continuous process wherein substantially all portions ofthe paper stock are blanked into individual similar liners without wasteor salvagev beyond that possibly required in trimming the lateraledges-of the web stock to size.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improvedresilient lug liner having ample provision for the flow of ventilatingair through openings restricted to the inner lateral corners of the lugin alignment with tilating openings in corrugated. sheet stock isrelated to the resilient nature of corrugated paper thereby making itvery diflicult to blank the cutouts at high speed. The

blanking dies normally employed comprise sharp edge I blades arranged tocut through the corrugated paper and remove the cutouts as the dieretracts. However, such a high percentage of the cutouts tend to remainin the stock it is necessary to stack the blanks and to use manuallymanipulated jigs having plungers operable to the slat openings in thelug corners and of such size as not to provide cutting hazard to thetender-skin of delicate fruits. r

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lug liner adaptedto be packaged flat and provided with parallel spaced hinging sectionsarranged, when assembled in a lug, to form a resilient central supportunderlying the bottom of the liner and featuring in addition a pluralityof ventilating air inlets along the opposite lower corners of the lug.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lug liner adaptedto be packaged and shipped flat, and formed with hinge lines crosswiseof the corrugated stock forming the liner in a manner providing a pairof of hinge sections includinglarge area ventilating openings andassociated outwardly projecting lugs operable'to support the lateralbottom portions of the liner out of contact with the lug bottom as wellas additional tangs engageable with the lug sides to lock the liner inassembled position therein.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon consideringin connectiontherewith the attached drawings to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawings in which preferred embodiments of theinvention are illustrated:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic representation in perspective of the linermanufacturing process;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale taken from thecorrugated face of the stock and showing one preferred type of slitemployed in forming the hinge as well as the ventilating openings;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken alongline 33 onFIGURE 2.;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a typical shipping lug, a linertherefor being folded in readiness for insertion into the lug;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view through the lug on an enlarged scaleand showing one lateral corner of the liner being inserted and the otherlateral corner in readiness to be lowered into the assembly position ofthe liner;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 on a slightly smaller scaleshowing the liner in fully assembled position;

FIGURE-7 is an enlarged fragmentary view through one lower corner of thelug after assembly of the liner;

FIGURE 8 is'a fragmentary top plan view of apparatus employed in forminga slightly modified liner construction;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of .the modified liner construction,,theliner being partially folded and in readiness for insertion into a lug;and

FIGURE 10' is a transverse sectional view through a lug with themodified liner in its fully installed position.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown one preferredmode of manufacturing, by a con tinuous process, resilient lug linersincorporating the present'invention. Suitable apparatus for practicingthe invention comprises a pair ofshaft's Hand 12 supporting supply rollsof paper stock 13 and 14 passing into a corrugating and gluing apparatusof'conventional design and shown enclosed by ahousing 15. The details ofthe corrugating and gluing equipment are not shown but will beunderstood as comprising the'usual steam-heated corrugating rolleffective to form transverse corrugations in a web 16 of stock advancingfrom supply roll 13. The corrugation crests on the lower side of web 16are coated with a narrow band of adhesive byknown technique before beingpressed into contact with the under-surface of a fiat non-corrugated web17 advancing from supply roll 14. The resulting web of Z-plycorrugatedpaper 18 is then fed into an elongated oven 20 by-the aidof suitableguide rolls 21; 22'supported in any suitable manner to maintain the web18 taut and properly centered between steam heaters or other suitabledryingchambers within oven 20.

As shown in FIGURE "1, the finished corrugated laminate issuing from thedryer has its corrugated side facing upwardly and its flat surfacefacing downwardly. However, it' is pointed out that these relativepositions of the plies may be reversed. Usually the lateral edges of web18 are irregular and slightly oversize. Trimming of these edges and theaccurate dimensioning of the finished web is assured by the use oftrimmer knives 25, 25 carried on a shaft 26 preferably operating inconjunction with a back- 4 up roll 27 effective to hold the web in firmcontact with the trimmer knives.

Web 18 next passes past a pair of slitter rolls 28, 28 appropriatelyspaced on a supporting shaft 29. The peripheral edge of slitter rolls 28carry irregularly con toured slitter knives 30, 30 here shown as beingof set pentine shape and understood as operating in conjunction withresilient'back-up rolls on the rear side ofthe web and not visible inFIGURE 1. I Although slits 31 may take numerous shapes, a particularlydesirable shape comprises a 270 degree length of a medium amplitude sinewave, each such slit being indicated at31 and shown on a greatlyenlarged scale in FIGURE 2. Each 270 degree slit includes three crests.An important feature of the slit is that the adjacent ends 32, 32 ofconsecutive slits 31 are spaced apart a sutficient distance to form ahinge axis represented by dotted line 33 in FIGURE 2. It is to be notedthatterminal ends 32, 32 of adjacent slits are not only in axialalignment but are positioned intermediate parallel lines drawn throughthe crests of these slits. Preferably, but not necessarily, the hingeaxis is midway between the described lines through the crests of theslits. It will be understood that slits 31 extend entirely throughcorrugated web 18.

After passing through slitters 30, 30 web 18 may pass about a guide roll35 and into a combined feed roll and cutter mechanism generallydesignated 36. This mechanism preferably includes feed rolls pressedagainst the opposite sides of web 18 and mating therewith in a mannereffective to pull the Web past the various processing stations. Alsoincluded in mechanism 36 is a knife roll for severing web 18 intoindividual liners 39 of uniform size with the width corresponding to theinterior length of a lug into which the liner is to be installed. Thefinished liners are shown stacked at 37 on a pallet 38 in readiness forwrapping and packaging.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, one of the completed liners 39 is shown withits side panels 40, 41 folded upwardly toward one another along hingeaxis 33 interconnecting the adjacent ends of each row of slits 31. Notethat side panel 41 is folded past its upright position to a positionclosely adjacent central panel 42 of' the liner, whereas side panel 40is folded somewhat short of its upright position.

A typical lug into which the liner is adapted to be inserted is shownin'FIGURE 4 as comprising a wooden box'having end walls 43, 43, a bottompanel 44, and a pair of side panels 45. Each of these panels is somewhatnarrower than the width of the end'walls to which they are attached, asby nails or other suitable fasteners. Bottom panel and side 'panels 45cooperate to provide long narrow slots 46, 46 at the opposite lowercorners of the lug through which a plentiful supply of'ventilating airmay pass. Also the top edges of side panels 45 preferably terminatebelow the top of end walls 43 to provide free outletsfor air,particularly-incases where the lugs are stacked one on top of theotheras they commonly are while in storage or in transit;

The assembly of the flat liners 38 is accomplished in the manner madeclear by FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. Thus, the operator grasps a liner 39 bytaking hold of the midlength of each side panel 40, 41 and folding thesmoothsurfaced side of these panels toward one another about hinge axes33. Side panel 41 isfolded past the upright position to that shown inFIGURE 4 after which the hinge portion thereof is inserted through theright-hand slot 46 of the'lug as viewed in FIGURE 5. When so positioned,the opposite edge of bottom panel 42 maybe pressed downwardly past theinner surface of the adjacent side wall 45 and against the interiorbottom of the lug as side panel 40 is folded to its upright position tolie flush against lug side panel 45.

In the fully installed position of liner 39, tangs 47 integral withbottom panel 42 project beyond the inner surfaces of side walls 45 tounderlie the lower edge of these walls and thereby lock the linerassembled to the lug.

Likewise, tangs 48 integral with side panels 40 and 41 lie in the sameplane as side panels 40 and 41 and project downwardly into slots 46 ofthe la .The described displacement of tangs 47, 48 forms largehalf-circularventilating air passages 49; 49 providing free: andunobstructed air flow through slot 46 upwardly into'ithe interior of thelug. Moreover, it is pointed out that the edges of passages 49 arespaced so closely to the lower lateral corners of the lug it isdifficult or impossible for the fruit contents of the lug to contactthese edges with sufiicient pressure to sever the skin. Furthermore,substantially all corrugations of the liner areprovided intermediatetheir opposite ends with openings in communication with slot 46 of thelug so that other portions of the ventilating air are free to circulatebetween the inner face of the'liner and the inner walls of the lug.Cooling and ventilating of the lug are thereby facilitated and assured.

Referring now to FIGURES 8 to 10, there is shown a modified embodimentof the invention wherein the same or similar parts'are" designated bythe same reference characters as in' the first described form butdistinguished therefrom'by theaddition of apn'me. This embodimentdiffers in s everal important respects. In the first place, it will be*observed that web 18 is sufiiciently wide to form more'than one row ofliners at the outlet end of the processing machine. Furthermore, eachrow of liners is of sufiicient breadth lengthwise of the corrugations asto permit formationof a foldable midsectio-n centrally of the bottompanelwhen the liner is assembled in a lug.

The foldable central section will be best understood by reference toFIGURES 9 and 10 showing the bottom 42' of liner 39' formed with aC-shaped fold 50 centrally of its bottom. The formation of fold 50 isfacilitated by the provision of two pairs of parallel score lines 51, 52crosswise of the corrugations of each liner, these score lines beingformed by crowned rolls 53 bearing against the advancing web. Rollers 53are suitably mounted on a shaft 54. Score lines 51, 52 are so positionedthat in the assembled folded position of the liner, its bottom portion42 is resiliently supported in spaced relation to lug bottom 44 in themanner best illustrated in FIGURE 10.

As will be observed from FIGURE 8, the processing equipment includesslitter rolls 28 provided in its peripheral edge with serpentineslitting knives 30' for forming slits 31'. The machine also includestrimming knives 29 to cut away salvage from the opposite edges of web18' as well as a central knife 25' operating to divide the web into twoidentical strips from which the liners are severed as they pass throughthe liner cutter mechanism, not shown, but similar in construction andfunction to mechanism 36 of the first described embodiment.

Liners 39' are assembled to shipping lugs differing from the lugs shownin FIGURES and 6 primarily in that bottom 44' is formed in two separatedhalves with their remote outer edges terminating generally opposite theinner faces of side walls 45.. The purpose of thislug assembly is toenable lug bottom 44' to underlie and support the downwardly extendingtangs 48', 48' of liner side panels 40, 41. Accordingly, it will beclear, as is shown in FIGURE 10, that all portions of liner bottom 42are supported in closely spaced relation to the lug bot-tom, thissupport being provided in part by tangs 48' and, in part by G-shape fold50 centrally of liner bottom 42. Thus tangs 48 cooperate with the 0-fold50 to provide additional protection and vibration-absorbing resiliencyfor delicate fruits during shipment and handling.

Liner 39' is assembled within the lug in the same manner described abovein connection with the first described embodiment. In the installedposition of the liner, outwardly projecting tangs 47, 47' underlie thelower edges of side walls 45' thereby positively locking the linerassembled to the lug. Likewise, the opening of tangs 47, 48' away fromthe adjacent side walls of the liner provides passages 49 for admittinglarge volumes of air to the lug and to the space underlying thesmoothsurfaced interior surfaceof the liner.

While the particular one-piece liner and resilient cushion and method ofmaking the same herein shown and disclosed in detail are fully capableof attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbeforestated, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of thepresently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitationsare intended to the details of construction or design herein shown otherthan as defined in the appended'claims.

We claim:

'1. An article of manufacture comprising a one-piece generally fiatrectangular plaque of resilient sheet stock having its opposed edgesparallel to one another and adapted to be assembled against the bottomand opposite side walls of a fruit shipping lug to form a resilientprotective liner for delicate fruits while being handled and while intransit, said linerhaving a central portion joined by a pair of hingesto a pair of similar laterally disposed side panels, said hinges eachcomprising irregularly shaped slits arranged in end-to-end spaced-apartrelation with the ends of the slits in each row in substantial alignmentand so disposed relative to the intervening portions of said irregularslits that the folding of said panels toward one another forms largearea ventilating air openings through said liner in the gaps betweenjuxtaposed edges of individual slits, said ventilating air openingsbeingclosely spaced and in aligned communication with the long narrowgap along either lower corner of a conventional wooden fruit lug, saidslits being serpentine in shape with the ends of the slits in each rowterminating adjacent a common straight hinge line lying generallycentrally between the crests of said slits, whereby said side panelstend to fold along lines passing through the ends of said slits causingthe serpentine ends of said slits to open away from one another and formlarge area air passages through said liner, and said article ofmanufacture being further characterized in that the portions of saidliners bordering said slits remain in the plane of the central panel ofthe liners and form tangs projecting beyond the side panels of the linerwhen folded to lie at right angles to said tangs, said projecting tangsbeing adapted to project into the gaps normally found in the oppositelower corners of fruit lugs and cooperating with edges thereof to lockthe liner assembled to the lug.

2. In a fruit lug of the type having narrow ventilating slots openinglaterally through its lower lateral side corners, that improvement whichcomprises a combined liner and cushion constructed from a one-piece fiatrectangular plaque of resilient sheet stock having a central panelcorresponding in shape and size with the interior bottom of said fruitlug and including narrow side panels hinged to either longer edge ofsaid central panel, sinuous cuts along said hinge providing tangs alongeach hinge which tangs are integral with and lie in the plane of saidcentral panel, the overall width of said tangs and central panel beinggreater than the interior width of the lug, whereby said tangs projectinto said ventilating slots and are engageable with the upper edges ofsaid slots to lock said liner assembled to the lug.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 characterized in that said plaqueis formed of corrugated sheet material having the corrugations thereofextending crosswise of the hinges between said side panels and saidcentral panel.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 characterized in that said sinuouscuts forming said hinges are arranged in spaced-apart end-to-endrelation to provide hinging connections between said side and centralpanels, said sinuous cuts cooperating to provide said tangs, some ofwhich project horizontally and the remainder of which project verticallyinto the narrow ventilating slots along the lower lateral corners of thelug when said liner is assembled into the lug and cooperate with theassociated edge of said slots in locking said liner against displacementrelative to both the bottom and the side walls of said lug.

5. The combination defined in claim 2 characterized in that said centralpanel is provided lengthwise of its median portion with four parallelcreases arranged to fold and provide an upwardly opening C-shaped pleat,said pleat providing a resilientsupport for the central panel portion ofthe liner and having a tendency to unfold and thereby to urge thelateral edges of said central panel and the tangs associated therewithoutwardly into said ventilating slots and into positive lockingengagement with the overlying edges of these slots.

67 An article of manufacture comprising a one-piece generally fiatrectangular plaque of resilient sheet stock having its opposed edgesparallel to one another and adapted to be assembled against the bottomand opposite side walls of a fruit shipping lug to form a resilientprote'ctive liner for delicate fruits while being handled and while intransit, said liner having a central portion joined by a pair of hingesto a pair of similar laterally disposed side panels, said hinges eachcomprising irregularly shaped slits arranged in end-to-end spaced-apartrelation with the ends of the slits in each row in substantial alignmentand so disposed relative to the intervening portions of said irregularslits that the folding of said panels toward one another forms largearea ventilating air openings through said liner in the gaps betweenjuxtaposed edges of individual slits, said ventilating air openingsbeing closely spaced and in aligned communication with the long nar-,row gap along either lower corner of a conventional wooden fruit lug,each slit being shaped to form at .least two tangs projecting inopposite directions, the ends .of

the slits in each row terminatingadjacent .a common straight hinge linelying between .the ends of said tangs, whereby said side panels tendtofoldalong linesvp'ass ing through the ends of said slits andtraversing said tangs causing the ends of said slits to open away'fronroneanother and form large area air passages through said liner,and said article of manufacture being further characterized in that theportions of said liners bordering said slits remain in the plane of thecentral panel of the liners and form tangs projecting outwardly awayfrom and beyond the side panels of the liner when folded to lie at rightangles to said tangs, said projecting tangs being adapted to projectinto the gaps normally found in the opposite lower corners of fruit lugsand cooperating with edges thereof to lock the liner assembled to thelug.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,169,238 Clenny Ian. 25, 191,6 1,705,267 Pohlrnan Mar. 12, 19291,757,087 Holbrook May.6, 1930 1,816,321 Foss July 28, 1931 2,701,088Tyrseck .Feb. 1, 1955 2,743,050 Crane Apr. 24, 1956 2,765,714 WischusenOct. 9, 1956 2,783,692 Bolding Mar..5, 1957 2,835,428 .Herzog May 20,1958 2,867,367 Butz Ian. 6, 1959

